And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
and Isaac goeth from thence, and encampeth in the valley of Gerar, and dwelleth there;
And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
Genesis — The book of beginnings. Creation, fall, flood, covenant, election, providence — eleven generational seams stitch one unbroken story from heaven-and-earth to a coffin in Egypt.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
Voices3
(Verse 17.) And Isaac departed from there and came to the valley of Gerar, and he dwelt there. The valley has a stream in Hebrew. For Isaac could not dwell in the valley after he became great. However, he dwelt by the stream, of which it is written: He shall drink from the brook by the way (Psalm 110:7). Also, during the time of famine, Elijah drank from that stream. But because Elijah was not perfect like Christ, therefore that stream dried up for him (1 Kings 17:7).
Jerome· Hebrew Questions on Genesis, 420patristic
And Isaac departed thence,.... At once, peaceably and quietly, though to his loss and disadvantage, without taking himself either to argument or arms, in favour of himself; he departed immediately, as soon as he perceived his abode was disagreeable to the king and his people; which gives us a very agree, able idea of the calm and peaceable disposition of Isaac: and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there; at some distance from the city of Gerar, as Jarchi observes.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
The king of Gerar began to look upon him with a jealous eye. Isaac's house was like a court, and his riches and retinue eclipsed Abimelech's; and therefore he must go further off.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan
